Archive | Food

During our Fluency classes we talk a lot, ONLY in Italian, of course. We talk about Italian regions, Italian food, Italian dialects, Italian traditions, Italian holidays, Italian good and bad habits, Italian gestures and many more topics. Right now we are talking about ‘Caffè italiano’ and, believe it or not, there is so much to say.

First of all, I have a question for you. Please, take a look at these 2 pictures and tell me which one is the caffè.

Solution: the caffè is the one in the tazzina (small cup).

The other one is a café (French word for bar).

In fact, in Italy we go to a bar to have our colazione (breakfast) or pranzo (lunch). Many bars in Italy close at 7pm, so they are not to be confused with pubs. We do have some bars or ‘birrerie’ that are open, but many bars are opened only during the day.

Now that we know what Italians mean by ‘caffè’… let’s see how many kinds of caffè they have. I’m telling you, they are so many that it will take us hours to talk about them… for now, let’s take a look at some pictures: do you know all the names of these caffè? Next week, after our lesson, you’ll know all about them!

Add the dry ingredients to a mixer/blender. Add enough water until it is

Ingredienti

able to blend into a smooth wet paste with no lumps at all. Let it blend for 2 minutes or so until it is smooth then slowly add extra flour until the mixture is a little less wet. Dust a flat surface with flour and spoon the mixture onto it. Slowly knead the mix constantly adding flour until the dough is warm and pliable and no longer sticky. You will be adding a lot of flour to get to this stage but it is important to do it this way. If you add too little water the dough will have little lumps and will never be right. Better to start too wet then too dry if in doubt. The dough will not last long in this ideal state so break off little lumps, pat them into shape and put them through the flat half of the pasta maker. This

Mixer

will flatten them into a pitta (or slightly longer) type shape. Take this and run it through the past makers tagliatelle attachment (or other if you prefer). While doing this it is a good idea to periodically knead the dough a little to keep it pliable. Hang the pasta over something and boil some water. Put a good handful of salt into the water. When the water is boiling, add the pasta and let it cook for 3-6 minutes until ready. Drain the pasta, but save a little bit of water. It will help to mix the pasta with the ragù.The recipe for the 30 minute ragù will be out soon. BUON APPETITO!